Garmin pushed a record 61 wearable devices or hardware variants through the FCC in 2025, while Fitbit did not file a single one. Step back across fifteen years of FCC data and the gap between brands becomes obvious, from Garmin’s nonstop hardware churn to Zepp Health’s bursts and the slower rhythm of Polar Suunto and Withings.
What FCC filings actually show
Let’s make something clear at the outset – FCC registrations do not necessarily equal product launches. They show how often a company pushes radio hardware through the US regulator, which sometimes means new boards, antennas, sensors or regional variants. One watch can generate several filings. Some experiments never reach retail at all.
Look at this as a proxy for hardware activity rather than a clean device count. Over a long period that proxy still tells a useful story, especially when you compare several brands side by side.
Essential reading: Upcoming smartwatches & health tech to expect in 2026
The table below sums up FCC registrations for Garmin, Polar, Suunto, Zepp Health, Withings and Fitbit from 2010 through 2025. We have not included Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi and a few other names in this list, as they simply have too many FCC filings. And most of them have nothing to do with wearable tech.
Year
Garmin
Polar
Suunto
Zepp Health
Withings
Fitbit
2010
14
2
0
0
0
2011
19
3
1
1
2012
19
4
3
3
2
2013
34
6
1
3
2
2014
25
5
4
1
4
1
2015
34
4
1
2
1
2
2016
42
3
2
3
4
4
2017
51
2
2
4
1
2
2018
38
3
4
5
3
3
2019
56
1
1
7
3
5
2020
46
3
1
19
2
4
2021
38
1
2
5
2
3
2022
45
3
1
10
3
3
2023
42
1
1
10
4
1
2024
35
3
2
5
3
1
2025
61
1
4
9
2
0
Even as a simple table you can already see very different personalities. Garmin keeps a high baseline then surges at the end of the period. Zepp Health fires in bursts. Polar Suunto and Withings barely move by comparison. Fitbit has slowly faded out.
So what’s behind these figures?
Garmin keeps the hardware engine running hot
Let’s start with Garmin. The company never really takes its foot off the gas. It starts the decade with mid teens filings, jumps into the 30s, sits in the 40s and 50s for several years, then peaks at 61 in 2025. Even the “quiet” years like 2018 and 2024 still sit in the mid to high thirties.
That pattern fits what readers see in shops. Garmin runs a wide portfolio across running, outdoor, aviation, marine and lifestyle. Under the surface this table suggests constant board spins, antenna tweaks and parallel projects. Some of that work becomes Fenix, Forerunner, Venu or Instinct variants. Some likely dies on the bench.
But you can be sure one thing. With Garmin, there is always something in the pipeline. Right now, the leaks point to the CIRQA band to launch in the near future. But make no mistake – there will be plenty of other devices in 2026.
Zepp Health moves in sharp bursts
Zepp Health plays a different game. It stays fairly modest early on, then spikes to 19 filings in 2020, hits 10 in both 2022 and 2023, dips again, then climbs to 9 in 2025.
This rhythm looks more like platform pushes than steady chipping away. When Zepp Health has a new architecture, radio platform or product wave, it seems to shove a batch of hardware through the FCC at once. That lines up with the way the company often launches several related wearables around the same time, across bands, watches and more rugged models.
Granted, Zepp Health has faced some criticism in earlier years for dishing out too many watch models. Perhaps that is the reason it has scaled back, focusing more on perfecting its software. Now it seems to have settled into a nice rhythm.
Polar Suunto and Withings stay conservative
Polar rarely climbs above four filings in any year. Suunto lives in a similar band, although it nudges up to four registrations in 2025, which hints at a bit more activity after a quieter stretch. Withings stays in low single digits the whole way, with a small bump in 2014 and 2016.
You can read that as a reflection of strategy. These brands focus on tighter lineups and slower refresh cycles. They seem to file when they have to, not because they want to keep a big experimental backlog alive. That approach trims risk, although it also leaves less room for surprise hardware.
For fans of these ecosystems the table sets expectations. You get fewer launches and a slower rhythm, but the devices that do appear usually sit in the catalogue for a while.
Fitbit’s long fade shows up very clearly
Fitbit tells a familiar story in numbers. It had a decent run through the mid 2010s, peaked at five registrations in 2019, then activity starts to sag. The early 2020s drop to three or four filings per year. By 2024 Fitbit sits at a single registration in this table, then it hits zero in 2025.
The company has hinted we should see a non-zero number in 2026. Let’s see if this pans out.
If you feel like Fitbit has pulled back on hardware, the statistics back that up. FCC work no longer runs at the pace that defined the pre acquisition era. Effort now leans more toward software integration inside the broader Google stack and less toward constant new radios in new shells.
For a reader thinking about long term platform choice, that matters. The table does not say anything about software support, but it does hint at where future devices are more likely to come from.
How you can actually use this info
Taken one device at a time, FCC leaks are fun but chaotic. Step back and look at fifteen years of filings and they start to behave. Garmin keeps filing, which usually means more hardware in more corners of the lineup. Zepp Health has worked in bursts in some years, but has now settled into a solid rhythm. Polar, Suunto and Withings plod along at their own pace. Fitbit looks a lot less eager than it once did.
This is not a crystal ball, but it works well as a pressure gauge. When filings ramp up, something is usually cooking. When a line stays flat for years, the launch calendar tends to thin out and the brand fades into the background rather than pushing the category forward.
Sources: FCC, FCCID Lookup Database, Gadgets & Wearables
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